Students will be able to identify, examine, and evaluate K-12 social studies resources based on their understandings and knowledge of social studies content as well as additional research materials. Each student is required to complete five resource reviews – one in each of the four categories list below and a fifth option of their choice (an additional review in one of the noted categories or something else with prior approval from the instructor). Each review will include and identification of the resource (APA citation), a description of the resource, and an evaluation of the resource for K-12 social studies students and classrooms. Although I have used a common theme, you may/should cover a variety of topics throughout these reviews.
Museum and Library of Confederate History The history of the South during the 1860s is depicted at the Museum and Library of Confederate History. This Museum gives a virtual tour of the history of the South (The Confederates) soldiers during the 1860s as well as during the Civil War. The Museum’s purpose is to present and defend their role in the Civil War (Sons of Confederate Veterans, 2010). The Museum has displays of the uniforms worn by the Confederate Soldiers as well as the artillery used by them. They also have some of the dresses worn by the women during these times. One very interesting section of the Museum contains the Vance Dawdry Library, which includes volumes of actual accounts of life and times during the 1860s. Some of these volumes illustrate the bravery of 65,000 black soldiers that fought with the Confederates (Barrow, 2007). There is a wall in the Confererate Museum that reflects the contributions made by blacks during the Civil War. The museum also recognized the input by famous blacks. In fact, Frederick Douglas, a former slave and Abolitionist during the Civil War, acknowledged the many blacks soldiers that fought alongside the white Confederate Soldiers, all in the name of Southern Freedom (Sons of Confederate Veterans, 2004). According to Jordan, “…though blacks were still slaves, they fought for the South because this was their home…even though it meant defending a segregated United States…(1995).” The South remained segregated throughout the Civil War. Though it was believed by many that President Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation Emancipation freed the slaves. As noted by Jordan, the Proclamation Emancipation did not free a single slave. He went on to state, “…the Proclamation was issued at a time when the Confederacy seemed to be winning the war, Lincoln hoped to transform a disagreement over secession into a crusade against slavery…the proclamation allowed slavery to continue in the North as well as in Tennessee and large parts of Louisiana and Virginia. It applied only to Confederate-held slaves…(1995). The museum’s overall perspective was designed to depict the real role of the south during the Civil War and how African Americans played a significant their part in the south. Some of the exhibits were astounding in contrast to the story that I was told throughout my educational experiences. This is important because it offers students another perspective to understanding the entire war.
U.S. Courts - George http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx History of Brown vs. Board of Education Website This website describes the entire case and the cases that lead up to the famous Brown vs. The Board of Education. It begins with Plessy vs. Ferguson, this case evolved around a black man that refused to give up his seat on a train. Although Plessy lost the case, it leads to other cases which invariably took us to Brown vs. The Board of Education. Several amendments were involved in this trial. The website also discusses how much the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall assist in desegregation trials. There are also other cases that are discussed such as Murray vs. Maryland, Gaines vs. Canada, and Sweat vs. Painter. This website offers educational resources that a student could utilize to learn more about the history of Brown vs. The Board of Education. Several items are sited such as classrooms to courtrooms, legal landmarks, and judicial interpretation of 14th amendment. A site that is an activity called you be the Supreme Court. This site gives the student an opportunity to observe some of the key factors that affect the decision-making process of the Supreme Court. Another site that is a part of this site is a quiz, shows the nomination process of the Supreme Court, or profiles of Federal judges. This site not only offers a distinct historical perspective of the key elements that lead up to the Brown vs. Education trial but it gives some history of the NAACP and the Supreme Court. On this site, students can learn about some of the judges and attorneys involved in the desegregation period. This site is thorough in its approach to acknowledging the major factors, cases, and persons involved in desegregation. I also enjoy the educational resources that come with this site. Judicial rules and policies, federal courts, and statistics are highlighted at the beginning of this website so that students can do research right on the front page. Everything is conveniently placed so the youth doesn’t have to look hard to access vital information about court proceedings and the history of some segregation court trials. References http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx
Journey Across Time: World History This is a text for South Carolina 7th grade Social Studies at my youngest son’s school (his name is Tyler). He currently attends Greenville Middle School in Greenville, South Carolina. This textbook has very descriptive photographs and maps. This textbook also offers a great deal of information from European exploration, revolution, and imperialism to the international developments in the post-World War II era. Numerous world leaders are also discussed thoroughly throughout the text. The first unit talks about different European countries and their cultures throughout. This unit talks about the Europeans affect on the Americas, the technology used by these cultures, and the slave trade. The unit on the Revolution describes the scientific, political, and industrial revolutions of the world. The scientific method, the French Revolution, and Industrial revolution are described thoroughly in this unit. Another unit discusses Imperialism and how it helped different cultures expand themselves around the globe. One section describes the differing views of imperialism. The final chapter deals with the modern era and beyond. The amount of information in this book is said to be “like a time machine,” to my son. One criticism of this text that I have is that it should offer more innovative ways to teach the lesson. In today’s global society, there are varying ideologies about the facts presented in this text. I would like to see some of these grade books give more views from the “other side” of the discussion. Students would build better opinions of the experience if this happened. The workbook doesn’t give creative lessons that keep the interest of these seven graders and this is according to my own student. Some of the lessons that we utilize in our classroom setting would thrive in some of these topics. The combination of the information in this text and some innovative techniques to teaching these assignments, this would make a phenomenal book to read and learn from.
World History: Journey Across Time George B. Pate SSE 6720 March 26, 2011 Best Ed Sites.com Website This website is excellent for students of any age. It includes a site for presidents, the history channel, the civil war, and even Egypt. As you click on each icon, the webpage appears and the student is able to maneuver through the site. Most of the website is established for information on different school topics. There is astronomy, language arts, math, and the teacher resource site just to name a few. The social studies website has such elaborate pictures and information concerning this topic it is fascinating. The history channel site offers videos, TV shows, and a picture gallery. The world atlas page talks about the continents, oceans, and the finding longitude and latitude. The presidents’ site shows a photo gallery of all the presidents and a section that describes some of the vital aspects of each president. One website even has the best places to visit. This site has Madagascar, Greenland, Tibet, and other places of the world. Each place is described with some facts about their location. I love this site because you can gather so much information about different topics from one website. It is a very colorful and easy to scan through. Each bit of information is only a mouse click away. Some of the photos are great; this site even has a collection of paintings of past presidents and even the present president. The colonial kids’ page shows the life of a child during the 1700s. This section discusses Native Americans, the clothing people wore at that time, and some of their transportation vehicles. The history place shows the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and various other 20th century topics in United States history. I like this site the best because you can learn about so many different things on one site. It also discusses the Vietnam War, WWI, and WWII. This site even has timelines. Photos and speeches of the week are presented in this section, too. References
Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science
As the title suggests, this is a detailed history of the sugar and the sugar trade reaches across time and space. The text goes from New Guinea, where humans are believed to have first cultivated sugar cane 10,000 years ago and how it spread across the ancient world. This includes brutal accounts of the rise of sugar plantations in the Caribbean and Hawaii. In the U.S., where the sugar story centered on Louisiana, even supposedly free states, such as New York, made fortunes in transporting and selling sugar grown by slaves.
This well-researched, brutally honest, compelling book offers readers a different way to look at many events over the past 200 years or so. Primary-source materials such as photographs, interview excerpts, and maps are included throughout, making this an indispensable part of any history collection. The chapter entitled “How We Researched and Wrote This Book” will be of particular interest to teachers and librarians. A teacher’s guide is available, and classroom discussion is sure to spark intense interest and further research, starting with the fully documented sources at the back.
The text addresses content standards associated history, geography, civics, and economics in meaningful and engaging ways which would be appropriate for students in grades 5-12. However, it may be a "hard sell" in a public school setting - is there the time, curriculum, experiences to support the use of such a resource. I think there is a place and the power/impact of students approaching early American and world history from a commodity as opposed to simply a list of dates would be interesting and powerful for students.
Resource Review 3 Jason Rivera
Resource Review Two Days in October PBS The American Experience October 1967, soldiers in Vietnam are ambushed and almost completely annihilated, while students in Madison, Wisconsin are protesting Dow Chemical Company’s recruiting of students on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. What is especially harrowing about these events that are separated only by time zones and geography, but that Americans now begin to see the rift that had been festering between proponents of the Vietnam War and those who see it for its hypocrisy and absurdity. This story focuses on the Black Lions Special Forces unit out of Fort Hood, Texas. On October 17, 1967 the Battalion led by Col. Terry Allen was on a patrol when they were ambushed by Vietcong soldiers. 142 men went on patrol and 64 were killed and nearly everyone who survived was wounded. What makes this unique are the connections of those who were on the ground in Vietnam and those who were at home. Part of the reason for the low morale of the Black Lions was that the leadership was being pressured by top commanders to produce results, which meant enemy kills. Col. Allen had been served a “Dear John” letter by his wife weeks earlier and had been out of touch with the reality on the ground. Therefore the slaughter of his battalion ensues because of clear command failures that cost lives. The idea of command failure also comes into play with the University of Wisconsin response to a peaceful protest. On October 18, 1967 students that were peacefully protesting Dow Chemical for producing napalm weapons that were being used in Vietnam. Dow had been recruiting on campus with the support of some of the faculty and administration. The command failure here incurs when the school Chancellor calls in Madison Police to disburse the crowd. What he did not take into consideration was the resentment that the police department held for the college students. This resentment based on socioeconomics and generational factors led to the police turning into storm troopers and violently removing students from the college administration building. The similarities of the command failure are remarkable when the college chancellor is told that police are beating students he says to another professor, “I know-and there is nothing I can do about it.” This documentary gives viewers a perspective of how two events separated by thousands of miles can show the complete polarization of the United States during the Vietnam War. This documentary will demostrate to students a primary source account of a historical event. The relationship between politics, history, and geography. Also is a firsthand represenatation of the importance of using digital media in the classroom that crosses content areas. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/twodays/filmmore/fd.html Jason Rivera Resource Review 4 Textbook America: Pathways to the Present, Modern American History Prentice Hall 2007
Pathways to the Present is the standard issue textbook for Riverview Community High school. The content covers 1492 to the present being 2007. The textbook is accompanied by teaching resource companion guides which offer guidance on collaborative activities, testing materials, alternative teaching strategies and extended learning. First the pros: The additional resources along with the teaching edition provide guidance and a strong framework for developing lesson plans and implementing teaching strategies while remaining focused on the unit material. Units are broken down to usually four to five chapters, with four to five sections within each chapter. Each chapter begins with reading focus, key terms and ideas and suggested target reading skills. Throughout each section graphic organizers, art, maps, diagrams, and primary source documents are strategically placed to reinforce the material. At the end of every section there is an assessment section which tests comprehension, critical thinking, and extended learning. Online resources are also recommended throughout to reinforce learning. Sections are broken down to specific elements and eras of historical periods. As with most historical textbook it is in chronological order but does allow for elements that tend to cross through multiple eras. For example, civil rights is covered in a number of chapters following the turn of the century. However, there also remains a lone chapter on the Civil Rights Movement. Another pro for this text is that it brings in other content area to the material that allows for an expanded interdisciplinary study of history through literature, math, and science. Each chapter ends with sections on test preparation and goes further with guidance for standardized test prep. Now the Cons: Unfortunately the content within the sections is mostly generalized information that allows for little extended learning to take place. For example sections on the importance of the Black Power Movement during the civil rights era are relegated to one paragraph with an umbrella view of the movement and its significance. Tests and quizzes reinforce memorization with very little opportunities for critical thinking. Collaborative exercises within the teaching resource guides are limited in scope and offer barebones lesson planning assistance. Overall, Pathways is pretty standard textbook designed for middle to low level students’ grades 9-10. At Riverview CP students taking US History are offered a different textbook that uses more critical thinking and expanded content matter as a framework for learning. I think this teaches to the middle as opposed to the high standards I believe should be taught at the secondary level.
Prezi, Is It Worth The Hype? The Prezi website describes its zooming presentation software as “stunning”. The New York Times says Prezi is “far beyond a simple slide show”. Admittedly these hyperbolic statements are somewhat true, depending of course, on the finished product. That is where your creative engine (your computer) comes to play. When creating a Prezi you break the linear mold of PowerPoint and other software applications because Prezi allows you to create your presentation on a blank canvas. If you have ever been through an obscenely long seminar or weekly staff meeting, the droning of slide after slide can be excruciating. As working professionals struggle with slide show day dreaming you must imagine how students feel in the 7 a.m. United States History course. Just think The Federalists Papers, slide, the Monroe Doctrine, slide, you get the idea, at least those of you that are awake. Prezi allows you to break this mold of slide shows by freeing up the creative landscape and allowing the presentations creator to layer, frame, import, and structure the information they are trying to convey that goes far beyond bullet points and quotations. Presentations therefore are more dynamic and the process of absorbing information is far more interesting because the presentation could now unfold as a narrative. The importation of YouTube videos is also a vital feature of Prezi. Long gone are the days of hyperlinked videos or minimizing and opening another window that forces you to break away from your PowerPoint. Prezi allows you to embed videos right into you presentation with shifting the focus away from the narrative. This is where the battle of the creators’ engine comes in. Prezi allows for videos to only be played on a Flash player, which most PC geeks, like me, know is not operational on Apple products. Therefore, with all of its greatness the ipad and Prezi are not a match made in geek heaven. Finally, what is the educational value in this software? Well, the break from linear styles of slide shows allows for students to remain engaged in the material. Videos are best utilized in short burst of three to eight minutes. If an instructor wishes to highlight or call attention to a specific aspect of a lecture the zooming path settings build and focus student attention on the specific area of focus. Prezi also allows for interdisciplinary content to be merged into a single presentation. If an instructor wants to merge Renaissance art layered with Machiavelli’s The Prince, the transition is smooth. The blank canvas also allows a history teacher to jump instantly from era to era while highlighting the space between the eras, making the content apply to visual learners. Overall Prezi is an evolutionary step for the digital age. Learners, professionals, consumers are constantly having information thrown at them. Traditional based presentation software no longer meets the attention spans of the audience. Whether that is good or bad I leave to the philosophers. However, I wish my freshman philosophy professor would have used Prezi during lectures; I may have caught a few less zs that year.
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Students will be able to identify, examine, and evaluate K-12 social studies resources based on their understandings and knowledge of social studies content as well as additional research materials.Each student is required to complete five resource reviews – one in each of the four categories list below and a fifth option of their choice (an additional review in one of the noted categories or something else with prior approval from the instructor).
Each review will include and identification of the resource (APA citation), a description of the resource, and an evaluation of the resource for K-12 social studies students and classrooms.
Although I have used a common theme, you may/should cover a variety of topics throughout these reviews.
Field Trip
Virtual JamestownDetroit Historical Museum
**Darlene Davis**
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Gloria Stokes
Museum and Library of Confederate History
The history of the South during the 1860s is depicted at the Museum and Library of Confederate History. This Museum gives a virtual tour of the history of the South (The Confederates) soldiers during the 1860s as well as during the Civil War. The Museum’s purpose is to present and defend their role in the Civil War (Sons of Confederate Veterans, 2010).
The Museum has displays of the uniforms worn by the Confederate Soldiers as well as the artillery used by them. They also have some of the dresses worn by the women during these times. One very interesting section of the Museum contains the Vance Dawdry Library, which includes volumes of actual accounts of life and times during the 1860s.
Some of these volumes illustrate the bravery of 65,000 black soldiers that fought with the Confederates (Barrow, 2007). There is a wall in the Confererate Museum that reflects the contributions made by blacks during the Civil War. The museum also recognized the input by famous blacks. In fact, Frederick Douglas, a former slave and Abolitionist during the Civil War, acknowledged the many blacks soldiers that fought alongside the white Confederate Soldiers, all in the name of Southern Freedom (Sons of Confederate Veterans, 2004). According to Jordan, “…though blacks were still slaves, they fought for the South because this was their home…even though it meant defending a segregated United States…(1995).”
The South remained segregated throughout the Civil War. Though it was believed by many that President Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation Emancipation freed the slaves. As noted by Jordan, the Proclamation Emancipation did not free a single slave. He went on to state,
“…the Proclamation was issued at a time when the Confederacy seemed to be winning the war, Lincoln hoped to transform a disagreement over secession into a crusade against slavery…the proclamation allowed slavery to continue in the North as well as in Tennessee and large parts of Louisiana and Virginia. It applied only to Confederate-held slaves…(1995).
The museum’s overall perspective was designed to depict the real role of the south during the Civil War and how African Americans played a significant their part in the south. Some of the exhibits were astounding in contrast to the story that I was told throughout my educational experiences. This is important because it offers students another perspective to understanding the entire war.
References
Barrow, C. K. Forgotten Confederates: An Anthology About Black Southerners
(1995)
Jordan, E. L. Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees in Civil War Virginia (1995)
SCV website at http://www.scv.org Copyright © 2004 Sons of Confederate Veterans
Brandy's Field Trip Review (not my original - still trying to locate! Will post when I figure out where I saved it)
The Detroit Institute of Art
Media
History is Fun - Jamestown Settlement (http://historyisfun.org/)Darlene Davis- Women History Month
Brandy's Media Resource Review http://www.culturecrossing.net/index.php
U.S. Courts - George
http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx
History of Brown vs. Board of Education Website
This website describes the entire case and the cases that lead up to the famous Brown vs. The Board of Education. It begins with Plessy vs. Ferguson, this case evolved around a black man that refused to give up his seat on a train. Although Plessy lost the case, it leads to other cases which invariably took us to Brown vs. The Board of Education. Several amendments were involved in this trial. The website also discusses how much the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall assist in desegregation trials. There are also other cases that are discussed such as Murray vs. Maryland, Gaines vs. Canada, and Sweat vs. Painter.
This website offers educational resources that a student could utilize to learn more about the history of Brown vs. The Board of Education. Several items are sited such as classrooms to courtrooms, legal landmarks, and judicial interpretation of 14th amendment. A site that is an activity called you be the Supreme Court. This site gives the student an opportunity to observe some of the key factors that affect the decision-making process of the Supreme Court. Another site that is a part of this site is a quiz, shows the nomination process of the Supreme Court, or profiles of Federal judges.
This site not only offers a distinct historical perspective of the key elements that lead up to the Brown vs. Education trial but it gives some history of the NAACP and the Supreme Court. On this site, students can learn about some of the judges and attorneys involved in the desegregation period. This site is thorough in its approach to acknowledging the major factors, cases, and persons involved in desegregation. I also enjoy the educational resources that come with this site. Judicial rules and policies, federal courts, and statistics are highlighted at the beginning of this website so that students can do research right on the front page. Everything is conveniently placed so the youth doesn’t have to look hard to access vital information about court proceedings and the history of some segregation court trials.
References
http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx
Journey Across Time: World History
This is a text for South Carolina 7th grade Social Studies at my youngest son’s school (his name is Tyler). He currently attends Greenville Middle School in Greenville, South Carolina. This textbook has very descriptive photographs and maps. This textbook also offers a great deal of information from European exploration, revolution, and imperialism to the international developments in the post-World War II era. Numerous world leaders are also discussed thoroughly throughout the text.
The first unit talks about different European countries and their cultures throughout. This unit talks about the Europeans affect on the Americas, the technology used by these cultures, and the slave trade. The unit on the Revolution describes the scientific, political, and industrial revolutions of the world. The scientific method, the French Revolution, and Industrial revolution are described thoroughly in this unit. Another unit discusses Imperialism and how it helped different cultures expand themselves around the globe. One section describes the differing views of imperialism. The final chapter deals with the modern era and beyond. The amount of information in this book is said to be “like a time machine,” to my son.
One criticism of this text that I have is that it should offer more innovative ways to teach the lesson. In today’s global society, there are varying ideologies about the facts presented in this text. I would like to see some of these grade books give more views from the “other side” of the discussion. Students would build better opinions of the experience if this happened. The workbook doesn’t give creative lessons that keep the interest of these seven graders and this is according to my own student. Some of the lessons that we utilize in our classroom setting would thrive in some of these topics. The combination of the information in this text and some innovative techniques to teaching these assignments, this would make a phenomenal book to read and learn from.
References
http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/workbooks/social_studies/south_carolina/scg7stp2.pdf
RUNNINGHEAD; World History: Journey Across Time
World History: Journey Across Time
George B. Pate
SSE 6720
March 26, 2011
Best Ed Sites.com Website
This website is excellent for students of any age. It includes a site for presidents, the history channel, the civil war, and even Egypt. As you click on each icon, the webpage appears and the student is able to maneuver through the site. Most of the website is established for information on different school topics. There is astronomy, language arts, math, and the teacher resource site just to name a few.
The social studies website has such elaborate pictures and information concerning this topic it is fascinating. The history channel site offers videos, TV shows, and a picture gallery. The world atlas page talks about the continents, oceans, and the finding longitude and latitude. The presidents’ site shows a photo gallery of all the presidents and a section that describes some of the vital aspects of each president. One website even has the best places to visit. This site has Madagascar, Greenland, Tibet, and other places of the world. Each place is described with some facts about their location.
I love this site because you can gather so much information about different topics from one website. It is a very colorful and easy to scan through. Each bit of information is only a mouse click away. Some of the photos are great; this site even has a collection of paintings of past presidents and even the present president. The colonial kids’ page shows the life of a child during the 1700s. This section discusses Native Americans, the clothing people wore at that time, and some of their transportation vehicles. The history place shows the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and various other 20th century topics in United States history. I like this site the best because you can learn about so many different things on one site. It also discusses the Vietnam War, WWI, and WWII. This site even has timelines. Photos and speeches of the week are presented in this section, too.
References
http://www.bestedsites.com/socialstudieslinks.html
RUNNINGHEAD; Best Ed. Sites. Com
Best Ed. Sites. Com
George B. Pate
SSE 6720
April 2, 2011
Textbook or Trade book
Brandy's Book Review: Forge by Laurie Halse AndersonSugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science
As the title suggests, this is a detailed history of the sugar and the sugar trade reaches across time and space. The text goes from New Guinea, where humans are believed to have first cultivated sugar cane 10,000 years ago and how it spread across the ancient world. This includes brutal accounts of the rise of sugar plantations in the Caribbean and Hawaii. In the U.S., where the sugar story centered on Louisiana, even supposedly free states, such as New York, made fortunes in transporting and selling sugar grown by slaves.
This well-researched, brutally honest, compelling book offers readers a different way to look at many events over the past 200 years or so. Primary-source materials such as photographs, interview excerpts, and maps are included throughout, making this an indispensable part of any history collection. The chapter entitled “How We Researched and Wrote This Book” will be of particular interest to teachers and librarians. A teacher’s guide is available, and classroom discussion is sure to spark intense interest and further research, starting with the fully documented sources at the back.
The text addresses content standards associated history, geography, civics, and economics in meaningful and engaging ways which would be appropriate for students in grades 5-12. However, it may be a "hard sell" in a public school setting - is there the time, curriculum, experiences to support the use of such a resource. I think there is a place and the power/impact of students approaching early American and world history from a commodity as opposed to simply a list of dates would be interesting and powerful for students.
Resource Review 3 Jason Rivera
Resource ReviewTwo Days in October
PBS The American Experience
October 1967, soldiers in Vietnam are ambushed and almost completely annihilated, while students in Madison, Wisconsin are protesting Dow Chemical Company’s recruiting of students on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. What is especially harrowing about these events that are separated only by time zones and geography, but that Americans now begin to see the rift that had been festering between proponents of the Vietnam War and those who see it for its hypocrisy and absurdity.
This story focuses on the Black Lions Special Forces unit out of Fort Hood, Texas. On October 17, 1967 the Battalion led by Col. Terry Allen was on a patrol when they were ambushed by Vietcong soldiers. 142 men went on patrol and 64 were killed and nearly everyone who survived was wounded. What makes this unique are the connections of those who were on the ground in Vietnam and those who were at home. Part of the reason for the low morale of the Black Lions was that the leadership was being pressured by top commanders to produce results, which meant enemy kills. Col. Allen had been served a “Dear John” letter by his wife weeks earlier and had been out of touch with the reality on the ground. Therefore the slaughter of his battalion ensues because of clear command failures that cost lives. The idea of command failure also comes into play with the University of Wisconsin response to a peaceful protest.
On October 18, 1967 students that were peacefully protesting Dow Chemical for producing napalm weapons that were being used in Vietnam. Dow had been recruiting on campus with the support of some of the faculty and administration. The command failure here incurs when the school Chancellor calls in Madison Police to disburse the crowd. What he did not take into consideration was the resentment that the police department held for the college students. This resentment based on socioeconomics and generational factors led to the police turning into storm troopers and violently removing students from the college administration building. The similarities of the command failure are remarkable when the college chancellor is told that police are beating students he says to another professor, “I know-and there is nothing I can do about it.”
This documentary gives viewers a perspective of how two events separated by thousands of miles can show the complete polarization of the United States during the Vietnam War. This documentary will demostrate to students a primary source account of a historical event. The relationship between politics, history, and geography. Also is a firsthand represenatation of the importance of using digital media in the classroom that crosses content areas.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/twodays/filmmore/fd.html
Jason Rivera
Resource Review 4 Textbook
America: Pathways to the Present, Modern American History
Prentice Hall 2007
Pathways to the Present is the standard issue textbook for Riverview Community High school. The content covers 1492 to the present being 2007.
The textbook is accompanied by teaching resource companion guides which offer guidance on collaborative activities, testing materials, alternative teaching strategies and extended learning.
First the pros:
The additional resources along with the teaching edition provide guidance and a strong framework for developing lesson plans and implementing teaching strategies while remaining focused on the unit material. Units are broken down to usually four to five chapters, with four to five sections within each chapter.
Each chapter begins with reading focus, key terms and ideas and suggested target reading skills. Throughout each section graphic organizers, art, maps, diagrams, and primary source documents are strategically placed to reinforce the material.
At the end of every section there is an assessment section which tests comprehension, critical thinking, and extended learning. Online resources are also recommended throughout to reinforce learning.
Sections are broken down to specific elements and eras of historical periods. As with most historical textbook it is in chronological order but does allow for elements that tend to cross through multiple eras. For example, civil rights is covered in a number of chapters following the turn of the century. However, there also remains a lone chapter on the Civil Rights Movement.
Another pro for this text is that it brings in other content area to the material that allows for an expanded interdisciplinary study of history through literature, math, and science.
Each chapter ends with sections on test preparation and goes further with guidance for standardized test prep.
Now the Cons:
Unfortunately the content within the sections is mostly generalized information that allows for little extended learning to take place. For example sections on the importance of the Black Power Movement during the civil rights era are relegated to one paragraph with an umbrella view of the movement and its significance.
Tests and quizzes reinforce memorization with very little opportunities for critical thinking. Collaborative exercises within the teaching resource guides are limited in scope and offer barebones lesson planning assistance.
Overall, Pathways is pretty standard textbook designed for middle to low level students’ grades 9-10. At Riverview CP students taking US History are offered a different textbook that uses more critical thinking and expanded content matter as a framework for learning. I think this teaches to the middle as opposed to the high standards I believe should be taught at the secondary level.
Sculthorpe Resource Review #5: Our Documents
Jason Rivera
Resource Review 5
Presentation SoftwarePrezi, Is It Worth The Hype?
The Prezi website describes its zooming presentation software as “stunning”. The New York Times says Prezi is “far beyond a simple slide show”. Admittedly these hyperbolic statements are somewhat true, depending of course, on the finished product. That is where your creative engine (your computer) comes to play.
When creating a Prezi you break the linear mold of PowerPoint and other software applications because Prezi allows you to create your presentation on a blank canvas. If you have ever been through an obscenely long seminar or weekly staff meeting, the droning of slide after slide can be excruciating. As working professionals struggle with slide show day dreaming you must imagine how students feel in the 7 a.m. United States History course. Just think The Federalists Papers, slide, the Monroe Doctrine, slide, you get the idea, at least those of you that are awake.
Prezi allows you to break this mold of slide shows by freeing up the creative landscape and allowing the presentations creator to layer, frame, import, and structure the information they are trying to convey that goes far beyond bullet points and quotations.
Presentations therefore are more dynamic and the process of absorbing information is far more interesting because the presentation could now unfold as a narrative.
The importation of YouTube videos is also a vital feature of Prezi. Long gone are the days of hyperlinked videos or minimizing and opening another window that forces you to break away from your PowerPoint. Prezi allows you to embed videos right into you presentation with shifting the focus away from the narrative.
This is where the battle of the creators’ engine comes in. Prezi allows for videos to only be played on a Flash player, which most PC geeks, like me, know is not operational on Apple products. Therefore, with all of its greatness the ipad and Prezi are not a match made in geek heaven.
Finally, what is the educational value in this software? Well, the break from linear styles of slide shows allows for students to remain engaged in the material. Videos are best utilized in short burst of three to eight minutes. If an instructor wishes to highlight or call attention to a specific aspect of a lecture the zooming path settings build and focus student attention on the specific area of focus.
Prezi also allows for interdisciplinary content to be merged into a single presentation. If an instructor wants to merge Renaissance art layered with Machiavelli’s The Prince, the transition is smooth. The blank canvas also allows a history teacher to jump instantly from era to era while highlighting the space between the eras, making the content apply to visual learners.
Overall Prezi is an evolutionary step for the digital age. Learners, professionals, consumers are constantly having information thrown at them. Traditional based presentation software no longer meets the attention spans of the audience. Whether that is good or bad I leave to the philosophers. However, I wish my freshman philosophy professor would have used Prezi during lectures; I may have caught a few less zs that year.
www.prezi.com